Some pharmacies are selling self-testing kits for Covid-19, although the results have not been recognised by UAE health authorities. Lateral flow, or rapid antigen tests, are being widely used in the UK and Europe for home testing of Covi-19.

In contrast to PCRs, that are processed in a lab, lateral flow tests can be performed at home by the person taking them. Results take around 15-20 minutes. The results have not been considered to be as accurate as a professional PCR test.

Lateral flow test results, from tests carried out at home, are not accepted in the Emirates, including airline travel or the Al Hosn green pass system. They are however, used by professional medics for Abu Dhabi's new border checks. The kits could be used by travellers going overseas, to self-test as a precaution once reaching their destination. In the UK, it is now difficult to find PCR tests or lateral flow kits.

The tests are available at some pharmacies, including CHS online for Dh40 per Panbio antigen test for home delivery in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

A pharmacist told The National her chain has recorded significant demand. “Some people buy two or three boxes," she said. "A popular question a lot of people are asking is, can I use this to cross borders or go to the airport? Of course, no.” "I had one person say they were positive, what should they do? I said they had to go to the doctor."

Like PCRs, lateral flow tests also require a nasal sample. The swab is then placed in a tube and swirled in a liquid that is then dropped on to a test device, having a control line. A second line will appear if the coronavirus is detected in the sample.

Authorities in Abu Dhabi are using them to screen positive tested people on the EDE scanner on entring the emirate from Dubai.

People testing positive via the antigen test are fitted with a tracking wristband and are required to isolate at home or suitable accommodation.

“It’s one of several options for testing for the virus that causes Covid-19 and may be more convenient than laboratory-based tests and point-of-care tests,” said a spokesman for Canadian Specialist Hospital in Dubai. “Consider keeping self-tests at home or where you may need them. It can also be used as one of many risk-reduction measures, along with vaccination, masking, and physical distancing, that protect you and others by reducing the chance of viral transmission.”

“You can self-test, even if you don’t have symptoms or are fully vaccinated, in order to make decisions that will help prevent spreading Covid-19 to others.”

Some experts have said rapid testing at home can be a route out of the pandemic. “Antigen tests are ‘contagiousness’ tests,” wrote Dr Michael Mina, an assistant professor of epidemiology and immunology/infectious diseases at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in an opinion piece in Time magazine. “They are extremely effective (>98 per cent sensitive compared to the typically used PCR test) in detecting Covid-19 when individuals are most contagious.”